Domenico Cimarosa’s 1788 piece L’Italiana in Londra is not performed very often. If you wanted to see it this year your only option would be a revival of the 2021 Frankfurt production which was recorded and is the subject of this review.
Domenico Cimarosa’s 1794 Commedia per musica; Le astuzie femminili, is extremely silly. It’s like an early Rossini farsa but a full two acts running almost three hours. There’s a girl called Bellina, who bears a more than passing resemblance to Rossini’s Rosina. She has been left a fortune by her father contingent on her marrying a dude from Naples called Don Giampaolo Lasagna. But she is in love with the penniless Filandro. Worse, her guardian, the notary Don Romualdo also wants to marry her despite having promised to marry his housekeeper Leonora. There’s also Ersilla, a friend of Bellina, who doesn’t seem to be in love with anybody.
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